STORIES
From urgent investigations and breaking news to bold op-eds by global leaders, we bring you the stories shaping the lives of women and girls worldwide.
A Better World for Girls Begins With Raising Boys Who Believe in One
True progress demands that we also invest in boys, writes Room to Read’s Director of Girls’ Education and Gender Equality in South Asia.
The Next Frontier of Misogyny Is Already Here
Misogynistic extremism has flourished online for years. Now, artificial intelligence and virtual worlds threaten to supercharge the abuse and make it inescapable, warn author and activist Laura Bates.
Sudan’s War is Forcing Families to Rethink FGM. We Cannot Waste This Moment.
In Sudan, war has reversed progress against FGM—what happens next will decide the fate of a generation of girls, writes Equality Now’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Gender Advisor. Photo: UN Women
It’s Time to Keep Our Promises to Women and Girls
As the United Nations turns 80, Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, urges world leaders to finally honor their commitments to protecting women and girls amid escalating wars and crises.
Women Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Faith and Freedom
Shirin Taber, Executive Director of Empower Women Media, argues that true religious freedom cannot exist without women’s equality. Photo: Fareed Khan / AP
The Richest Nation Walked Away from Congo. Women Are Paying the Price
Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, warns that the Trump administration’s aid cuts have deepened the suffering of Congo’s most vulnerable, especially women and girls. Photo: Oxfam
Why Forced Marriage Must Be Recognized as Trafficking
At 16, Payzee Mahmod was forced into marriage. Today, she wants the world to recognize it as trafficking.
Investing in Women’s Health Is a Smart Economic Move. Why Aren’t We Funding It?
As aid shrinks and global needs grow, cutting support for reproductive care is not just shortsighted — it threatens decades of progress for women and girls. Photo: UNFPA
This Week, Global Leaders Face a Test: Will They Fund Women or Weapons?
This week’s FFD4 conference in Seville is a crucial moment to rethink global financing and finally put women and girls at the center of development. Photo: Manuel Elías / UN
As Israel Confronts the Islamic Republic, Hostage Families Like Mine Are Still Paying the Price
While the world focuses on nuclear sites and missile strikes, 50 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza—and those who enabled their abduction face no consequences. Photo: Brendan McDermid / Reuters
We Know Who the Real Enemy Is—Why Doesn’t the World?
As war escalates between Israel and the Islamic Republic, Gazelle Sharmahd—whose father was executed by the regime—wants the world to stand with the Iranian people, not their oppressors. Photo: AFP
The ICC is Pursuing Charges of Gender Persecution Against the Taliban. Will it Succeed?
The ICC’s case against the Taliban isn’t just a legal milestone — it’s a long-overdue moral reckoning for the world’s silence on gender apartheid. Karim Sahib / AFP
The World Is Abandoning Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence—We Must Not Look Away
In her MTHS op-ed, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Feride Rushiti calls on the world not to abandon survivors of wartime sexual violence as cuts to survivor services in Kosovo threaten to erase decades of progress in justice, healing, and dignity for victims.
Hegseth’s Closure of the Pentagon’s Women, Peace and Security Program Will Make Peace in the Middle East Harder Than Ever
Eliminating Women, Peace, and Security from U.S. defense policy isn’t just shortsighted—it undermines global peace efforts and ignores the very women who bear the brunt of war, argues former Wilson Center analyst Faria Nasruddin.
Ten Years After the Yezidi Genocide, Yezidi Women Are Still Fighting for Justice
Ten years after ISIS’s genocide, Yezidi women—once enslaved, silenced, and brutalized—are now leading the fight for justice, recovery, and dignity in their homeland. Photo: Free Yezidi Foundation
My father was executed by terrorists. His fight was never just about the Islamic Regime in Iran—it was about a global jihadist system that terrorizes women
Gazelle Sharmahd’s father was executed for exposing a global system of jihadist terror—now she’s fighting back for every woman it tries to silence.
My Sister Was Killed in the Name of ‘Honor.’ Kuwait’s Repeal of Article 153 Is Progress — But It’s Not Enough
Campaigner Payzee Mahmod reflects on Kuwait's abolishment of Article 153 and the continued fight for women's rights.
Canceling the Afghan Girls’ Scholarship Program Is a Political, Not Budgetary, Decision
The abrupt termination of U.S.-funded scholarships has left hundreds of Afghan women in limbo, facing deportation and the loss of their education. Photo: Paula Bronstein
Child Marriage Destroys Girls’ Lives and Futures. When Will We Stop It?
This International Women's Day, in partnership with the Spotlight Initiative—the United Nations’ high-impact initiative to end violence against women and girls—Sarah Little calls on leaders to step up and take urgent action against child marriage.
Why Women in the Mississippi Delta Are Dying from Preventable Cervical Cancer
Systemic barriers are denying women, particularly black women, in the Mississippi Delta access to the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer prevention.